Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Winged Sumac at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The Linnaean epithet "Copallinum" (traditionally capitalized) is grammatically a noun in apposition rather than an adjective, and therefore does not change grammatical gender [thus "copallinum" not "copallina"]. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2023).
The recognition of two or more varieties is problematic (the variation in leaflet size, shape, and number clinal), yet the degree of variation makes a monolithic Rhus copallinum uncomfortable, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-007:
Rhus copallina FAMILY Anacardiaceae
COMMON NAME:
Winged Sumac, Shining Sumac, Dwarf Sumac
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2361_r_copallin
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_694
)
JK Marlow jkm200502_4540
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm0306i_25
June Transylvania County NC
Dupont State Forest
Rachis with green marginal wings between leaflets. Leaflet margins entire, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
leaves of Sumac and Tree-of-heaven
)
JK Marlow jkm0307i_24
July Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0307n_18
July Greenville County SC
Roadside
Inflorescence terminates stem or branches and extends well above the leaves, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0308l_04
August Greenville County SC
Fruits are red, densely hairy, roundish but somewhat flattened, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm200808_6968
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm200808_6969
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73479
August Miami-Dade County FL
Dense showy panicle, to 12" tall, of very small yellowish flowers, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73498
August Miami-Dade County FL
)
Keith Bradley kab_rhus_copallinum_73528
August Miami-Dade County FL
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_083021hayesville26
August Clay County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm0410j_17
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow s041023_a
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Leaflets number 7-21. A shrub that produces masses of reddish fall color, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_101022Hayesville14ed
October Clay County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhus copallinum +
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 110-01-007:
Rhus copallina
FAMILY
Anacardiaceae
1236
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Look for it in dry woodlands, and also (depending on variety) in sandhills or rocky glades or maritime thickets, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common, uncommon, or rare - depending on variety & region
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 9-11(23) leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Greenish-yellow/White
4-5 sepals
4-5 petals
4-5 stamens
Usually bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p376
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p071
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p314
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p078
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p401
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p522
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p164
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p114
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p086
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p064
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p320
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p71
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p299
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p080
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p211
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p022
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p166
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p09
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p306
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p292
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p070
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